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Comment by mjmasn | Hacker News Reader

Might be a British/American difference but I found all of these incredibly patronising and insincere. You need empathy and sincerity to be good at customer service. At the very least just think of the reply you'd expect if you had the same problem with a different company.

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> I found all of these incredibly patronising and insincere

I'm American. I find close to 70% of my interactions with support staff is insincere on the part of the support staff.

I find about that percentage of my interactions with anyone involved in business, generally insincere and gross. Work and providing value to people can feel great but business is disgusting.

I don't mean for this to sound patronizing but that's because your compatriots (Americans) expect and want this kind of support. I know this from working in support for a long time and handling customers from all over the globe. Nowhere is the entitlement and expectation for "beyond friendly" service as problematic as it is for US customers.

And it's not just B2C, this type of behavior is creeping into B2B interactions as well, to the degree that technical consultants and specially trained staff are expected to act in a vapid and thoroughly "insincere" manner as well, anything else is seen as unprofessional.

In most parts of Europe, it's another story entirely. If you know what you're doing and you're doing it well, most people understand you're just doing your job, and they will not expect faked enthusiasm or insincere empathy. In fact, in many markets a dash of cynicism will actually get you closer to the customer.

Of course, this is generalizing and there are Americans who "act European" and vice versa, but the minefield of attempting to be sincere to a US customer is like nothing I've experienced anywhere else. It's almost like an angebergesellschaft where some people are just waiting to pounce on you for your unprofessional behavior, knowing that they will be backed up by management because noone wants people to be unprofessional, right.

> angebergesellschaft

Google didn't help with translating this one, can you shed Teutonic light on this word?

I got angeber = "show off" and gesellschaft = "society", which I think makes sense in the context of hnarn's comment. I'm not German though so not 100% sure.

"Angeber" is a somewhat archaic word for an informant (but apparently means "show-off" today), so it's someone who reports you to the authorities, essentially a "snitch" but with a much more authoritarian connotation. So it's a society of informants, where everybody's afraid to be genuine due to the possible repercussions.

Indeed. Empathy doesn't come from message templates. It comes from actual empathy.

Templates do have a part to play when they are incorporated correctly into training and procedures. At times, they can be used as a checklist for inexperienced support people, but as a support manager you need people to understand that these aren't even the minimum required for a response to a customer. I always show our templates and what actually gets sent to the customer for comparison.

The support person needs to understand the problem that the customer faces and how it connects to the product they are supporting (today and in the future.) Often, support is a just a cost to companies, or they offer no career path in support, which means that templates become the norm for bad support management.

Like tending the ground on a farm can be seen as a cost.

...until yields go in the dumpster.

Only then it is seen as part of the entire cycle needed to make money.

Support is a part of the cycle. It should be priced in and those people given good opps same as everyone.

And, in many scenarios, support can lead to sales too. Good support people get to know their contacts. And that relationship can lead to genuine interest in more business. Experienced ones will do this naturally. It is all bonus money when they do. (Low cost of sales) Personally, I would spiff em. No quotas though.

Please, whoever reads this thinking about how to drive sales... just stop. Empower people to have those chats, make introductions, etc... but don't put it on your forecast, or under sales management. I am not speaking to that. I am speaking about experienced support people who become aware they can help on that front when indicated and warranted. Not looking for chances to make a pitch.

The moment you do, what was genuine becomes as contrived as these template are.

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